NationStates Jolt Archive

Wonderful film makers. I've seen their entire body of work and wonder if there are any other fans out there. :)

Poll is comin' to pick your favorite.

Note: I will not include "Ladykillers" in the poll as it is a remake.

I haven't seen half of those films--mainly the early ones--but The Big Lebowski and O Brother Where Art Thou rank among my all-time favorites. They'd be in my personal top 50 all-time, perhaps top 20.

i Was torn between Lebowski and Blood Simple, but it has to be Lebowski ("8 year olds dude...")

The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy, and O Brother, Where Art Thou. Just wanted to weigh in.

Fargo.

"Is that your friend in the woodchipper?"

Don't think I've ever watched a film of theirs.

Now, I heard that James Caan is a righteous dude. I heard this from the same guy who told me (and rather eloquently, I might add) that "the only film that I care to watch is the film on my teeth... and you should tell all of those cinematic devotees that they might want to read a book once in a while... for example, Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides was an excellent read... Conroy is a master of descriptive narrative, while the movie was "okay", and I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt here, Streisand had no business playing the role of Savannah. Barbara Streisand had almost none of what Conroy described Savannah as in the book."

But that's just me.

Although i loved Fargo and Oh Brother Where Art Though...

The Big Lebowski is simply excellent :D

"The Dude abides...."

I haven't seen Blood simple or Hudsucker Proxy but I like all the others. Fargo is my favourite. A great study of American Finns in action.... :)

You regularly put people in woodchippers then? :p

You regularly put people in woodchippers then? :p
Every Saturday afternoons. And only fat ones. It lubricates the machines. We don't want to waste limited natural resources like oil for that.

Every Saturday afternoons. And only fat ones. It lubricates the machines. We don't want to waste limited natural resources like oil for that.

Good thing I'm thin-ish then...if i ever visit i'll be safe :D

A hard question. I picked Miller's Crossing because of how demanding it is. Every time I see it, everyone else watching keeps asking me to explain what's going on, but I don't have time as I'm too busy keeping track of the subplots. Most people don't even realise there's a homosexual subplot in there. Devilishly thick and good.

But really they're all good. I didn't find The Big Lebowski to be that good compared to their other comedies, i.e. Raising Arizona and Intolerable Cruelty. Not over-the-top enough.

As for film-noir, Blood Simple has a succulent rawness, while The Man Who Wasn't There has a symphonic balance between horror and humour to it that is hard to find elsewhere.

But really they're all good. I didn't find The Big Lebowski to be that good compared to their other comedies, i.e. Raising Arizona and Intolerable Cruelty. Not over-the-top enough.

That is kinda the point though with TBL, it's meant to be laid back and just kinda dopey.

and you should tell all of those cinematic devotees that they might want to read a book once in a while...

I read plenty. However, none of the films listed were written as books. They were written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers specifically for the medium that is film.

Apples and oranges, my friend. Film is as valid an artform as literature but with staggering differences.

Ah,

I thought O Brother was fantastic .. methinks I'll have to watch it on dvd again soon.

Good call, they're great filmakers.

Fargo
O'Brother
Lebowski

In that order.

But they are all awesome films. Most are among my most favorite films.